[completed - under editing]
[last chapter edited - 8 | setting a trap for yourself]
"You're told all your life that you're broken, insane, mentally ill. And then you're told that you are going to repair the world."
᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽
Thirteen...
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Leilani
How long do you think it'll take for someone to die?" I refer to the fact that Gemi has just dragged Scorpio to check on a group that consists of his little sister, his archenemy, and his archenemy's therapist who simps for aforementioned little sister. Someone is gonna die there.
Vienna shrugs, closing her eyes as she leans back. "Are we making bets? I don't have any money."
"Yeah, sure," I murmur. "There's no way else to waste time until Ari, that accursed blonde, Aquaria, Pisces, and Carina come back. Preferably with Gemi and Scorpio in tow. Preferably all alive. And we don't need money."
"Except Peridot," mumbles Vienna with a dark glare at her wounded arm, as if Peridot is the cause of this.
"Okay, I don't exactly love Peridot, but she isn't that bad," I interject, frowning as Vienna ignores me. "No, seriously, why do you hate her?"
"I don't hate her," Vienna says stubbornly, combing her fingers through her tangled hair. "I highly dislike her. She's not worth my hatred."
I can't exactly find an answer to that. Something chill sweeps over the back of my neck as I shiver slightly. "Oh, and Leo is?" I hadn't expected the slight flush coloring her cheeks, but that's certainly a bonus. She averts her gaze and studies her arm.
The chill wind picks up until I can no longer ignore it. Standing up, I glance around. There seems to be no source, but a fog is slowly descending on the room.
I start to be alarmed when the cold creeps down my arms and shields Vienna from view. "Is it just me, or is there something wrong?" I voice as I feel the ground rumbling under my feet. Far off, I hear argumentative noises and a few stray curses, but I can't see anything in this mist.
"No," Vienna's disembodied voice confirms, "There's something wrong — OH, CRAP —" her voice cracks on the last word and trails off. Blindly, I feel my way to wherever her voice is coming from. Some dark shape materializes, sprinting for me. It's the size and shape of a panther, possibly. I dive out of the way, but too late. It slams into my leg — and passes right through with an icy feeling that's vaguely uncomfortable.
Illusions? "Vienna, are you okay?" I shout. The fog is thick. I imagine it would feel like cotton in my mouth. If this too wasn't an illusion, which it just could be.
There's a silence in which my heart sinks slightly before Vienna shouts back a slightly muffled response. "Yeah — they're illusions."
It's a short period of time before the next figure appears in the mist, a long worm–like creature with serrated teeth lining its mouth. Forcing myself to remain calm, I steel myself as it slithers towards me, arching its neck — or whatever it is — to strike. It buries its head in my leg, needles of pain shooting through my body as its long teeth clamp down. A shrill scream escapes my lips. How? It had to be an illusion, but it doesn't feel like it. No, the pain is lashing and very real. My hands reach out in the mist as I grasp its slimy coils, pulling, dragging its teeth out of my skin. My lips gape open to scream, but nothing comes out.
